


Waterlogged (alt whumptober prompt)

by broken_fannibal



Series: Whumptober 2019 [16]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alec Hardy Whump, Caretaking, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Male-Female Friendship, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-20 21:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21288770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broken_fannibal/pseuds/broken_fannibal
Summary: Alec gets rescued after being tortured with water which made him relive the events of that fateful night where he found Pippa Gillespie's body in the river.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller
Series: Whumptober 2019 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1512353
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Waterlogged (alt whumptober prompt)

**Author's Note:**

> idk I actually don't really like Tess cause she cheated on Alec so I have very little sympathy for her but yeah. here she is anyway.

His clothes were completely soaked when they found him curled up in a corner. He was pale and trembling.

No wonder, Ellie thought. Who knew how he'd been sitting there with his wet clothes. He must be freezing by now.

But when she got closer, she saw that his lips weren't purple. She took his hand. It wasn't much colder than her own skin. That was weird.

Why was he shaking like a leaf in the wind if he wasn't cold?

“Hardy? Come on, get up. Let's get you out of here.”

He didn't respond but let himself be pulled to his feet.

Back at his home, she helped him to the bathroom and told him to get out of his wet clothes.

He did so in a trance-like state. His hands were still shaking, so were his legs. The look in his eyes could only be described as haunted.

She went to his closet and got a set of clothes.

“Come on, you have to take off your underwear too.”

Reluctantly, he peeled off the wet fabric. It took a long time because it clung to his skin. And his hands were still shaking.

For a brief moment, Ellie thought about offering to help him. But it seemed like an invasion of his privacy. And under normal circumstances- in his right mind- he would never let her.

When he was done, she held a towel out to him and continued to hang his wet clothes up to dry.

When she turned back to him, he sat on the toilet set, the towel crumpled in his lap, and staring into nothing. Still trembling.

She held the t-shirt out to him.

Without even really looking at her, he took it.

Piece by piece, she handed him his clothes.

She reached out to touch his arm. His skin was warm. So why was he still shaking? Did he have a fever? To test it, she held the inside of her wrist to his forehead. It wasn't warmer than her own skin. Strange.

“Do you need anything?” she asked.

But he remained unresponsive.

Ellie couldn't even tell if he had registered what she had said. It broke her heart to see him like this. After helping him walk to the bed, she made him drink a little before tucking him in.

She desperately wanted to know what had happened so she'd know how to help him. It was scary that he just let himself be manoeuvred like a puppet.

About an hour later, Tess arrived. Ellie had texted her after they’d found Alec. Mostly so she would be able to tell Daisy.

She had been surprised when Hardy’s ex-wife had told her, she’d come around.

So Ellie didn't quite know what to expect when she sat down next to her on the stone steps.

It was quiet for a moment.

"How is he?" she asked, her voice quiet and worried.

"He's asleep right now. He changed clothes and then went to the bed." she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't know what happened. When we found him he was completely soaked and shaking. But he wasn't cold."

"Did he say what they did to him?"

Ellie was quiet for a moment. "He hasn't said a single word..."

Tess' eyes widened. Then understanding dawned on her features. "They must have done something with water."

Ellie frowned. "What do you mean?"

Tess hesitated for a moment. But she figured Ellie had the right to know. "Ever since Sandbrook where he found one of the girls in the river, he's been scared to be in the water. Or even on a boat, or close to water."

"Oh god," Ellie whispered, horrified.

Tess nodded. "Yeah."

Silence settled over them as both of them got lost in their thoughts.

Suddenly there was a loud thump from inside.

They both jolted upright, immediately alerted, and ran inside.

Alec had fallen off the bed. He lay curled up on the floor, head in his hands and crying.

Ellie knelt down next to him and touched his shoulder, trying to calm him.

Tess stood a few steps away and watched with growing concern. It looked like he'd had a nightmare... She could still remember what it had been like to wake up to find him curled up on the bed next to her, trying his best to muffle his cries so he wouldn't wake her. He’d tried to hide that from her. Especially... especially towards the end.

She was brought back to reality when a quick movement caught her eye.

Alec abruptly sat. And then- ever so slowly- he got up.

Ellie noticed that his hand were shaking again and his gaze was as empty as it had been before.

With slow steps, he went to the bathroom.

When he came back out, Ellie went to steady him. He took a shaky breath and let her. He even leaned into the touch a little.

But he stilled when his gaze landed on Tess. He opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and looked away. He started walking, pulling away from Ellie and reaching for the wall for support.

Ellie looked after him and then over at Tess, frowning in confusion.

Alec crawled into bed and curled up with his back to them.

They went outside again, knowing there was nothing they could do. He wouldn't let them.

"Do you know why he pulled away from me when he saw you?" Ellie asked. She figured Tess would know him better than she did. They had been married after all.

Tess bit her lip in thought. "Either he was embarrassed that someone saw you help him... Or..." she shrugged. "Or he didn't want me to be jealous?" she quickly added: "That's probably not it. I'm not sure."

"Why would he think you'd be jealous?"

Tess blinked. "Aren't you two... You're not... sleeping with him?"

Ellie's eyebrows shot up. "What? No!"

"Oh."

"Why would you even think that?"

"He's so comfortable around you. Physically, I mean. You haven't even known him for that long and he already lets you help him like that."

Ellie shook her head. "Normally he doesn't. He even complains when I make him a cup of tea. I don't think this counts, not when he’s like this. He's not himself.” Sadness took over her voice again. “What they did to him really must have shaken him. Like you said, ever since Sandbrook he's been scared of water. And now... who knows what they did..."

Tess nodded.

Even though her relationship with Alec had been over for a while and it hadn't ended on good terms (she knew she was mostly to blame for that), she still couldn't help feeling a little jealous.

Alec hadn't lived in Broadchurch for long and yet he didn't seem to have a problem with letting Ellie Miller help him... Even in his weaker moments, he’d usually pulled away from her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider leaving kudos/comments! <3


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